2022-03-24
While Australia’s leading farmers and the nation’s major farm groups endorse emissions reduction targets and set their own ambitious climate goals, the LNP has sabotaged climate policy.
The Greens have listened to our farmers and the science, and have today launched our plan to continue feeding and clothing Australia while giving certainty to farmers and mitigating climate change and biodiversity loss.
Greens spokesperson for agriculture, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said:
“Few industries are more impacted by climatic disruption to ecosystems and biodiversity than farming.
“I’ve met plenty of farmers who care deeply about their land, understand the changes they are seeing around them and want to do their bit for climate action. But the Liberals and Nationals seven year sabotage of climate policy continues to shoot farmers in the foot.
“The Greens will restore the Carbon Farming Futures program of $25m per annum, which the Liberals axed in 2016.
“By restoring funding to this program, we will see hundreds more carbon reducing projects get off the ground.
“Farmers are an important part of the climate solution, and benefit from taking climate action in so many ways.
“The Greens plan for regenerative agriculture is about improving both farm and farmer resilience against extreme weather events, while keeping farms economically viable and our environment healthy.
“To boost the uptake in regenerative agriculture practices on farms, the Greens will create Green Agriculture Australia, a $250 million R&D centre that will invest in researching, developing and deploying sustainable farming solutions. This will include helping to secure properties for state-wide training farms-centres, exhibitions, research and development.
“We will also support organic farming by reforming organic labelling laws in Australia, and work at all levels of Government to remove existing regulatory barriers to hemp production and tap into the enormous potential that seaweed farming has for green jobs.”
The Greens will:
- Restore the Carbon Farming Futures grants, providing $25m a year to support carbon farming
- Create a $250m Green Agriculture Australia research centre, developing and deploying green alternatives for farmers
- Reform organic labelling and support organic certification, protecting producers and consumers
- Build an Australian hemp, cannabis and seaweed farming industry, creating thousands of sustainable jobs
*Further details on the Greens’ plan for carbon farming will be announced in the coming
weeks.